Ganev K, Onchev G, Ivanov P
WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Mental Health, Sofia, Bulgaria.
Acta Psychiatr Scand. 1998 Sep;98(3):200-7. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1998.tb10067.x.
A total of 60 patients with functional non-affective psychoses were assessed 16 years after their inclusion in the WHO co-ordinated study on reduction and assessment of psychiatric disability. All patients at inclusion had a recent onset of a psychotic disorder. About one-third of the patients had a good outcome. The rest showed moderate to severe psychiatric symptoms and social disability. Comparison with other similar studies suggested that our results show a low mortality rate, high levels of clinical symptoms, high levels of social disability and a low percentage of institutionalized patients. These findings are discussed in the context of the high level of family involvement in patients' care, which could reflect a cultural factor.
